The FIFA World Cup is the most important sporting event on the planet, and next year it will feature its largest edition yet in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The tournament will debut the 48-team format, promising an even greater scale. However, FIFA is not stopping there — the organization also announced the launch of another international tournament in 2026.
“FIFA has confirmed that the FIFA Series 2026 will take place during the international match window in March and April next year,” announced the global governing body for soccer via its official website on Friday.
The FIFA Series is a recently created national-team tournament designed to promote the development of soccer worldwide, providing competitive opportunities to countries outside the sport’s traditional elite. All of this is organized under a professional framework similar to other FIFA competitions, which helps elevate standards and offers a valuable tool for growth.
“The FIFA Series is about unlocking development potential for players, coaches and fans, while promoting football’s universality and diversity through meaningful matches. The 2026 edition will further enhance that impact for men’s and women’s football alike,” said Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA.
The inaugural FIFA Series took place in 2024, featuring friendly matches between national teams from various regions across the world in multiple simultaneous venues, including Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka. At that time, 24 teams participated, and the goal now is to expand that number considerably.
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FIFA Series 2026 will be an expanded edition
Building on the experience from 2024, FIFA now has greater ambitions for the next edition of the event. The FIFA Series 2026 will no longer be exclusively for men’s soccer; it will also include women’s competitions, with more host cities and participating teams.
“The men’s FIFA Series will feature a series of meaningful matches hosted in Australia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, and Uzbekistan,” explained the official statement. “Discussions are also advancing with other FIFA Member Associations, which may join as additional host nations in the coming months.”
FIFA also shared details about the women’s tournament: “The women’s FIFA Series will debut with events in Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, and Thailand. The full line-up will be announced in early 2026.”
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FIFA Series will not overlap with the World Cup
While it is clear that the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Series have completely different objectives and scales, they are not entirely separate. In fact, of the 24 teams that participated in the inaugural 2024 edition, seven are already qualified for the World Cup in North America: Croatia, Algeria, South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Cape Verde, and New Zealand. Bolivia may also join via the intercontinental playoff.
Given this, it is essential that the schedules of the two tournaments do not overlap. That is why the FIFA Series will take place in March and April, leaving ample time before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on Thursday, June 11, 2026.
